Never Got to Say Goodbye
by Internal Demon
Summary: It's the day that Percy goes missing, and Annabeth goes crazy searching for him. One-shot. R&R please!


"Percy!" Annabeth called, the excitement barely contained within her voice.

She burst through the carved wooden door of the Athena cabin and sprinted across the perfectly trimmed grass toward the Poseidon cabin.

The grassy area was filled with hungry demi-gods all headed toward

breakfast, and Annabeth dodged and weaved through the crowd. She dove in between the Stoll brothers and made a final dash for the shell-

embedded cabin yelling it's inhabitant's name the whole way.

"Percy!" Annabeth called knocking on the sea-blue door while catching her breath. She was jumping up and down for she was so exited to tell Percy that she was finally given permission to make some changes to the Athena cabin.

When the door didn't open Annabeth kept knocking. "Percy! Percy, open up! I have something to tell you!" Annabeth pounded on the door.

When no one came to the door Annabeth's smile slowly began to fade with concern. "Percy...?"

No answer. Annabeth began to worry. She reached for the doorknob hoping the door would be locked, meaning Percy had just overslept. But when she twisted the brass knob, the door clicked and swung open aAnnabeth's push.

The young demi-god took a step inside of the cabin, praying to both Poseidon and Athena that he would be in there and that her instinct were wrong.

One step after another Annabeth walked into the cabin's living space. She looked around and tears sprang to her eyes when she found it empty. All except one of the bunks were neatly made, the other was a tangle of sheets and clothes. Percy's fountain was at the back of the room, the sunlight coming from the windows causing a rainbow in the fountain's mist. An old ragged green backpack lay on the floor the top thrown open, though Annabeth couldn't see what was inside.

She walked over to one of the cabin's wall, which were covered in pictures. All of them were of her. She picked up one of her and Percy on her 15th birthday. Frosting covered Annabeth's face and colored her hair, her stormy eyes on Percy who was in mid laugh in the edge of his chair.

Another picture showed Annabeth laughing while rubbing her fist across Percy's black hair. He was rolling his eyes, but a smile was at his lips.

Annabeth put the pictures back on the wall and turned back toward the door and sprinted outside. She raced past her fellow campers ignoring those who spoke to her and kept running until she reached the weaponry, then the raining stadium, then the forest. Each time to only find it Percy-free, and each time finding more tears streaming down her face.

She ran to the Dining Hall, and ran to the Poseidon table where she collapsed, covering her face with her arms and breathing heavily.

Annabeth heard the Hall go silent, and the clip of hooves as Chiron approached her. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

Annabeth's fists tightened and she felt anger swell at his unawareness. How could they NOT have noticed that Percy was missing? Surely she hadn't been the only one to realize that.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing her anger, Annabeth stood up and looked Chiron in the eyes. "Percy's gone." she said as another drop slid down her tear-streaked face.

There was a gasp and a mixture of words as this dawned on everyone in the camp. Campers all started talking at once.

"Silence!" Chiron shouted and everyone grew silent. Chiron turned to Annabeth. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Last night." she answered wiping her eyes. "We were talking, and walked me back to the Athena cabin. Then he kissed me goodnight and left for his cabin. I went there this morning but found him gone, but all of his things still here."

Chiron nodded and hugged her in understanding. "Alright everyone! Go with your cabins and search for Perseus. Apollo and Ares take the forest. Dionysus take the strawberry fields. Athena and Hephaestus take the camp stations. Hermes take the beach. Aphrodite take the pegusi and search from the sky. Now go!"

With that everyone took off running, but Annabeth didn't move. "Where do you think he went?" she cried.

"... I don't know Annabeth." Chiron said sadly pitying the girl. "I'm sorry Annabeth, but I don't know. Maybe you should come to the Big House for some hot chocolate."

Images filled Annabeth's head of Percy, beaten and bloody in a dark alleyway, chained to a wall unconscious, lost in a large crowd in a busy city. She began to imagine reasons he left. He was blackmailed to, he couldn't take the camp, he didn't want to be around Annabeth anymore...

"No." she said, both to Chiron and herself. She looked at him, "I'm going to look for Percy, and I'm going to keep looking until I find him." she turned and ran off before Chiron could say anything otherwise.

And search she did, but to no avail. Annabeth stood crying into her sibling's shoulder by sunset, and he held her with understanding and muttered words of support, but nothing could comfort her.

"It'll be okay Annabeth. We'll find him, I-" her brother was stopped in mid-sentence by two Hermes campers, Kyle and David.

"Annabeth, you might want to come see this." Kyle said handing her a tissue to wipe her eyes.

She nodded and accepted the tissue, following them down to the beach. They walked for sometime before they came to a cave in the rocks by the sea.

Annabeth recognized this cave as the one Percy took her to after they kissed for the first time. It from then on become their special cave, and she became angry with herself for not thinking of checking here earlier!

The rest of the Hermes cabin and Chiron were waiting outside of the cave, and they nodded at Annabeth sadly as she walked by.

The sunset cast shadows throughout the cave, but the center remained illuminated by the sun's rays. Annabeth walked in and stopped dead in her tracks. Tears sprang to her eyes, and a hurricane of emotions swirled inside her. She blinked her eyes and the smallest of smiles appeared on her lips.

For there, written in the sand, was a note from Percy. And it said:

_I'll never forget you Annabeth Chase._

But it's too bad he already has...

* * *

><p><em><strong>Okay, so this takes place the day that Percy goes missing in TLH and it is sorta about how Annabeth deals with it. I know it isn't the best one-shot, but I came up with it in, like, 3 hours (which is still sad ^^;) So, anyway, let me know what you think of it!<strong>_


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